The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 02, 2021
Filed:
Nov. 27, 2019
Phyn Llc, Torrance, CA (US);
Salil P. Banerjee, Lynchburg, VA (US);
Raul I. Ramos-Garcia, Seattle, WA (US);
Aanand Esterberg, Seattle, WA (US);
Shwetak N. Patel, Seattle, WA (US);
Phyn LLC, Torrance, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and system for detecting small leaks in a plumbing system is disclosed. A temperature sensor coupled to the water in the plumbing system is used to determine if there is a leak. During times of inactivity for fixtures in the plumbing systems, a flow sensor might measure usage of water that would indicate a leak. For very small leaks, the flow is below a minimum measurable flow of the flow sensor. Embodiments of the invention measure temperature of water within a pipe coupled to the plumbing system. Temperature will generally decay in a particular predicable way when there is flow as the temperature of water upon entry to the building is lower than the air temperature within the building. Signal processing, machine learning and/or statistical approaches are used to analyze the temperature and optionally flow and/or pressure over time to determine when a leak is likely.